MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

11/14 End of era for Ramirez & Cubs

Aramis Ramirez’s agent Paul Kinzer said Monday there’s no chance the third baseman will return to the Cubs and is looking for a three to four-year deal with a new team. Ramirez wants a ring.

“Aramis is going to be fine,” Kinzer said of the free agent, considered the top third baseman available. “We’re not in any hurry. I’m just feeling teams out. As the market establishes itself and people find out if they’re in or not on [Albert] Pujols or [Prince] Fielder, and who’s in on [Jose] Reyes, Aramis is going to be there. He’s not looking at an eight-year contract. He’s going to be looking in the four range, and maybe three with an option. It’s going to be his choice.”

However, Kinzer did take the opportunity to respond to criticism from Cubs TV analyst Bob Brenly, who said in a radio interview that it was time for Ramirez to go.

“There’s no question about it, you look at the stats and he’s the best third baseman they’ve had since Ron Santo, maybe the only third baseman the Cubs have had since Ron Santo,” said Brenly, who also said pitchers don’t like Ramirez because it takes him too long to turn double plays and he’s weak defensively.

“For me, I think maybe it’s time for him to move on and go somewhere else,” Brenly said. “I’m sure he still has a number of good years left as an offensive player but if you’re looking to retool the team in a diffrent image, it might be time for him to go.”

Kinzer’s response?

“I’m not real happy about the stuff that came out negative about Aramis,” Kinzer said. “For a broadcaster to come out and say that, I think is very low class. We didn’t come out and say a word about it but that bothered Aramis and it bothered me a lot. If [Brenly] had something to say to him, he should’ve said it to his face when he was a Cub and not when he hits free agency and then come out like that. You can talk to Jim Hendry, Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker and if this guy isn’t a producer and he was as bad as he said, and not a clutch hitter — they don’t give Silver Sluggers out to punch-and-Judy hitters. If he had a personal problem with him, he should’ve come to Aramis or I instead of trying to destroy him in the media. That bothered me a lot.”

— Carrie Muskat

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2 Comments

“Aramis is going to be fine” ….what a relief to know! Now we can all sleep better.
Brenly gets criticized for telling the truth. Why would Brenly say such remarks during the season to Ramirez’s face when he was Cub? It was a RADIO INTERVIEW. If Ramirez held interviews and had Brenly as a guest then maybe Brenly would have made those comments to Ramirez. Hello, Mr. Kinzer? Reality to Mr. Kinzer….come in Mr. Kinzer…

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